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Nancy Grace
Husband Arrested for Strangulation Murder of Wife, Two Sons
Aired May 20, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight in the case of a beautiful young mom and her two little sons found dead in their white-finished two- story home, strangled each in their own bedroom. In a heartbreaking gesture, 31-year-old Sheri Coleman and the two little boys, Garett and Gavin, ages just 9 and 11, laid to rest side by side.
Bombshell tonight. An arrest goes down -- that`s right, an arrest. In the late evening hours, police converge on the home of murder victim 31- year-old Sheri Coleman`s in-laws, husband-slash-daddy and former Marine Chris Coleman behind bars as we speak on three counts murder one.
Tonight, we learn manner of death, mother Sheri and her two little boys dead by ligature strangulation. Police confirm forensics leading them to arrest the preacher`s son, who worked personal security for renowned worldwide televangelist Joyce Meyer Ministries. A glove, a glove discarded, flung along I-255 five minutes from the Coleman home where Mommy and two little boys lay dead -- that glove set to crack this case wide open, allegedly splotched with red spray paint, potentially a direct link to a chilling message scrawled in red paint across the wall of the murder scene.
Tonight, we confirm investigators fanning out to local Wal-Marts, hardware stores, for leads linked to red spray paint and -- significant -- rubber gloves. This after the specter of a mistress rears its ugly head in the midst of the murder investigation. Witnesses surface as far away as Florida, Chicago, Missouri and Springfield, Illinois.
In the last hours, Chris Coleman in full shackles before a judge for formal charges. Now prosecutors have the burden. They must prove who -- who -- crept into that family home in the darkened early morning hours to smother and strangle the life out of a stunning young mother and two little boys, leaving all three dead in their own beds. They say it was Daddy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Murderer!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby killer!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Murderer!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby killer!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. We have made an arrest in the homicide of Sheri, Gavin and Garett Coleman. We have a Christopher Coleman in custody. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and his two small children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Coleman was brought in in his orange jumpsuit from the county jail here. His hands were handcuffed and his legs were shackled. He had to scootch across the floor, shuffle across the floor as he approached the judge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chris Coleman pleads not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) 10:00 o`clock, and we were able to get the arrest warrant signed. When things started breaking and we made the phone call back to the major case squad to get them reactivated, they were here at a moment`s notice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know where he was on that morning and I don`t know why he wasn`t there. We`ve gone over this a million times in our collective minds here about what happened and how it happened. We`ll be patient because patient is something we need to be. We`re looking forward to a resolution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Police converge on the home of murder victim 31-year- old Sheri Coleman`s in-laws, husband-slash-daddy, former Marine Chris Coleman behind bars on three counts murder one. Now prosecutors have the burden to prove who crept in the family home to smother and strangle the life out of a stunning mother and two little boys. Prosecutors say it was Daddy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have anything to say, Chris?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, did you kill your wife?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris? Chris, do you have any comment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christopher Coleman charged with three counts of murder in the death of his wife and two children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went to his parents` home and placed him in custody there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police filed charges after they say they found new forensic evidence. Now, they are not talking about a motive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... more evidence that came forward. It just all started coming together. And for several days now, we`ve been close.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The charges were read. The bond was set. In fact, he didn`t get any bond. He`s being held without bond in the death and murders of his two children, his two sons, and his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a domestic violence case. It screams domestic violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is easily one of the most cowardly acts imaginable, to go into a little child`s bedroom and choke the life out of them in the middle of the night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a long road ahead of us. If there are people out there who knew the Coleman family, we still encourage you to call us. It`s by no means over tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Nick Pistor with "The St. Louis Post- Dispatch." He is standing by there, outside the jail. Nick, what happened?
NICK PISTOR, "ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH": Last night, police got evidence that they said was good enough for them to arrest Chris Coleman. Between 9:00 and 10:00 o`clock, he was arrested. He was brought to the Columbia police station. He was walked out, put into a police car and taken to the jail. Today, he showed up for an arraignment. He pleaded not guilty. No bond is set. And he came into the courthouse under heavy scrutiny from some public citizens here in Waterloo.
GRACE: Was he holed up there at his parents` home?
PISTOR: Yes. They got him in Chester, Illinois, where his parents live.
GRACE: Why was he no longer at his own home?
PISTOR: He had no longer been living there after the murders. He had arrived back there to get some belongings last week, and his lawyer had said that he did not want to go in.
GRACE: To Chris Hayes with KTVI, joining us also at the jail there with Nick Pistor. Chris Hayes, there was a lot of evidence, apparently, but police clearly got something that tipped the scale. What was the final straw? Do we have any idea, Chris Hayes?
CHRIS HAYES, KTVI: We`ve been asking those same questions. We would like to know what that final piece of evidence is. We know some of the clues that they`ve been chasing. We know they`re very interested in this rubber glove that they found. We also know that police are very interested in spray paint.
They`ve specifically been to a Wal-Mart on Telegraph Road, which would be on the route where Chris Coleman would have taken from his house to the gym that morning. They asked for surveillance tape. They took specifically samples of red shades of spray paint at that store, and also checked a hardware store in Columbia, Illinois, asking about spray paint, asking about a rubber glove. So they`re interested in finding this can of spray paint. Whether they found it or not, whether they found surveillance, that we still don`t know.
GRACE: Elizabeth, please show me the new photos we have of the little boys and their mother. I want to thank Sheri`s family for giving us these photos. We`re all talking about an arrest that went down last night in the late evening hours. But I want to go back to this woman, Sheri Coleman, the mother of two little boys. There they are, 9 and 11 years old, 3rd and 5th grades. Look at them.
The killer went into that home, padded down the hall, a hall, according to prosecutors, he had walked down many, many times, and methodically turned down three different bedrooms to strangle the life out of his own two little boys, ages 9 and 11. We learn tonight, we confirm, method ligature strangulation, one of the most painful deaths a person can endure. It`s not like that. You see your killer, most often. You feel your death.
I want to go out to Major Jeff Connor, deputy commander of the major case squad of greater St. Louis. Major, thank you for being with us tonight. Tell me your reaction to the arrest.
MAJ. JEFF CONNOR, DEPUTY COMMANDER, MAJOR CASE SQUAD: We`re just happy that this has come to this type of conclusion. We`ve felt for several days that we knew who was responsible for this crime, and we`re just glad that it came to an end and that we were able to place this suspect under custody.
GRACE: Major Connor, did you have the defendant, the suspect, under surveillance this entire time?
CONNOR: No, not necessarily under surveillance the entire time.
GRACE: Did you know where he was at all times?
CONNOR: We had reason to believe that he was staying at his parents` house.
GRACE: Major Connor, what do you say to those detractors that wanted you to make the arrest earlier?
CONNOR: We`re just satisfied that we have a solid case. And sometimes things don`t go as quick as you or somebody else may want it to be, but we are very satisfied with this case and we`re just happy for this type of conclusion.
GRACE: Major, I had to learn that the hard way as a prosecutor. You have to wait until the right moment or you could ruin the entire case. It could all go down the tubes because of your rash decision. One hasty decision can ruin a case.
We are taking your calls live. To Laurie in Pennsylvania. Hey, Laurie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. I think you`re the best.
GRACE: Laurie, thank you very much. And thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this man eligible for the death penalty?
GRACE: I`m sorry. Someone`s in my ear. Repeat question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he eligible for the death penalty?
GRACE: He absolutely is eligible for the death penalty. Now, let me remind you that a couple of governors, both who are facing their own legal problems, have put a moratorium on the death penalty in that jurisdiction. But that does not mean, Laurie, that the state is stopped from seeking it. Right now, there`s a moratorium on implementing the death penalty, but I predict that moratorium is going to be lifted.
Straight out to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, the aggravating circumstances in that jurisdiction that could lead the state to seek the death penalty are what?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Number one, more than one victim -- three victims in this case. Another obvious one, a victim under 12 years old. Third factor that could apply, cold, calculated and premeditated.
GRACE: Quickly to Marc Klaas. Marc Klaas, even though an arrest has gone down, there is no joy tonight.
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: You know, Nancy, this creature murdered his family in the same way that my daughter was murdered. She had to look up into the eyes of her killer, and it was those cold, remorseless eyes that were the last thing that she ever saw. I hope when this creature meets his fate, he`s looking into the cold, calculating eyes of somebody who cares as little about him as he seemed to care about his family.
GRACE: As we go to break, here are the two little boys, Garett, 11, and Gavin, just 9 years old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police would not say he was a suspect. In fact, they would come and say they knew who did it, but they would not give us Chris Coleman`s name, not until last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have made an arrest in the homicide of Sheri, Gavin and Garett Coleman. We have a Christopher Coleman in custody. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and his two small children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They brought him here this morning, and people were ready for him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby killer!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Murderer!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Murderer!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the Illinois husband and father accused of killing his wife and their two children by strangulation. He appeared before a judge today and pleaded not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His wife, Sheri, and two young kids, Gavin and Garett, were found strangled to death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are still awaiting test results from a glove reportedly found along a stretch of nearby interstate. It appears to have spray paint stains on it consistent with a threat left on a wall at the crime scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a message written on the wall in spray paint that said something to the effect of, I told you so, or, I told you this would happen. Case squad investigators have been in stores asking about spray paint sales, looking at surveillance and even taking samplings of red spray paint.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For several days now, we`ve been close. (INAUDIBLE) able to solidify just a more solid case. Prosecutor felt, as we did, that at this point, there was enough time to charge him with these crimes.
PISTOR: She had never complained about any infidelity. She had not complained about any verbal or physical abuse to any of the family members. Surprise is one emotion. Betrayal is another emotion because my aunt and my cousin, they know this young lady. She went to high school with Sheri. So it`s not some random girl he met off the Internet. This was a friend of the family, a friend of their daughter`s, their sister`s. So they felt betrayed and they`re upset.
But they were stunned to read Nick`s story. Nick called me and gave me the heads-up the story was coming out. I called my aunt. She was very, very surprised because Sheri had never complained to her family members about this. I don`t even know if Sheri knew.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight back out to Nick Pistor, standing by there at the jailhouse. Nick Pistor, describe to me, what was the scene when he was finally arrested?
PISTOR: We don`t know what happened when he was arrested at the house. It happened very fast. It went down very quickly. There was hardly any notification. All we did know is that there was major breaking news from the police, that they were having a press conference late last night at about 10:10. And that`s what happened. And then he was brought in and he was brought out, and there was intense media around the police station. And when he came out, he appeared to have little emotion.
GRACE: To Chris Hayes with KTVI, also there with Pistor at the jailhouse. How did cops keep it under wraps?
HAYES: Well, they`ve been really quiet about what`s been going on and stuff has kind of leaked out slowly over time. But some things have been very apparent because you could see cars sitting on the family house in Chester. You could see five unmarked cars, two people to a car. They would follow Coleman around, even to a graveside visit and even to a hospital visit where Mom had to go, an hour-and-a-half south. So we could see things going on. And then we`d hear things from people in the community. But they`ve done a good job of trying to keep some of the information from getting out to not blow this investigation.
GRACE: Well, they certainly have held it close to the vest, and that is extremely rare and commendable, Major Connor.
Out to the lines. Nancy in Georgia. Hi, Nancy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call.
GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we know about the dynamics of how they got together? Sheri was only 31 years old and her oldest son is 11, so she was quite young. She was in the Navy. He was in the Marines. What do we know about the dynamic of how they began and whether there was any turmoil or concern at the beginning?
GRACE: To Nick Pistor. How did they meet? What was their courtship?
PISTOR: They met in the military and then they married. They were very religious. He was involved with Joyce Meyer Ministries. She was involved to some lesser extent with Joyce Meyer Ministries. He was...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Pistor. Just because you go to church or you work at a church, that does not mean you are religious, all right? Trust me on that one. So they met in the military? Is that what you`re saying, Nick?
PISTOR: Yes.
GRACE: OK. To you, Ellie Jostad. What more do we know about their relationship?
JOSTAD: Well, from outward appearances, everybody said that this seemed to be a typical family. Sheri was a stay-at-home mom, devoted to taking care of those two kids, raising the two boys. She was very involved not just in the church, she was part of a missionary group, planned to go overseas later this year and do some missionary work. Just a happy family, by all accounts.
GRACE: To Marlaina Schiavo standing by on the story as, well. Marlaina, I understand he`s got no bond?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: No bond, Nancy. And actually, right now, his attorney is saying they may even ask for a change of venue at this point.
GRACE: His attorney`s already asking about a change of venue. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Renee Rockwell out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, defense attorney, Alan Ripka, defense attorney out of New York. Isn`t he jumping the gun a little bit, Renee Rockwell? We don`t even have a jury pool. We don`t even have a trial date. We don`t even know if they`re seeking the death penalty. And he wants to change the venue?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, there`s a couple of things we do know, that as he`s paraded out of the police station, they`re screaming "Baby killer" and "Murderer." This is something that you will see the defense attorney filing for is a change of venue, especially if they`re going to ask for the death penalty, even though...
GRACE: The first thing I would do, if, God help me, I was a defense attorney, Ripka, is to try to get the bond lowered. Let`s worry about where we`re going to have the trial down the road when it`s time for the trial.
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right, Nancy. You have to get this guy out of jail. You have to make it affordable. And you have to show the court...
GRACE: No, you don`t have to. But if I were the defense, I`d be asking for it.
RIPKA: Well, you want to do it. You want to be able to prepare a defense, and you need your client, Nancy.
GRACE: You mean you need him out of jail.
RIPKA: I need him out of jail so I can work with him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is your client a suspect?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know that. I don`t know anything other than what you all know. And we`re not in a position to make any comments right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any comment?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have made an arrest in the homicide of Sheri, Gavin and Garett Coleman. We have a Christopher Coleman in custody. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, did you kill your wife?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris, do you have any comment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have anything to say to Sheri`s family?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about your kids, Chris? Anything you want to say about (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any message at all?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Mike Brooks, former fed with the FBI. Mike Brooks, we are hearing and are waiting to confirm that the glove found along I-255 about five minutes from the Coleman home was a latex glove with red spray paint on it, don`t know how much. If it was, in fact, from a spray paint can, you would expect it on the index finger. It may be a very fine mist. That may have been what cops are waiting on, to get that analysis from the crime lab. You`re going to have to match it up to chemical compounds found in other paint.
But you know, speaking of DNA, why they waited this long -- it`s been about 15 days since the murders went down. Maybe they were waiting for more complicated, like mitochondrial DNA found in that glove.
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Absolutely, Nancy. That glove could be a treasure trove of evidence. You`ve got DNA. Also, you could have possible fingerprint evidence inside of the latex glove from either putting it on or taking it off, up in the very tips. You could also have hairs and fibers.
You know, the other thing, too, cell phone records. They`re going to know for sure whether or not he did take that route, which was a couple -- was one of two routes he could have taken to that gym about five miles away -- whether or not he was along the road that particular day on that particular time.
GRACE: Hey, Brooks?
BROOKS: Yes, ma`am?
GRACE: Here`s a question about latex gloves. When you take the glove off, do you smear or lose the fingerprint, or do you think there will be enough intact in there to get a complete fingerprint?
BROOKS: There could be -- even if you have a partial, as long as you have those eight points that are admissible in court, you could have something. And again, trace evidence, hairs and fibers, all could be inside that glove, Nancy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Illinois husband and father has pleaded "not guilty" to charges he strangled his wife and two young boys to death. The judge ordered Chris Coleman held without bond after a short court appearance today. There are allegations he`s been having an affair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police sources have said that there was a girlfriend in Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Detectives have traveled to Florida to ask about this female friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody has said anything that they knew of anything to point to trouble within the marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Coleman, who works as a security guard, chief of security for a major Evangelist in town, resigned. And the Evangelist said that it was a -- that he broke, he violated policy. We were told from an employee of that Church that he admitted to two co- workers that he had an inappropriate relationship.
ENRICO MIRABELLI, SPOKESMAN FOR SHERI COLEMAN`S FAMILY: My aunt and my cousin, they know this young lady. She went to high school with Sheri. So it`s not some random girl he met off the Internet. This was a friend of the family.
It took two days after the murders for Chris to finally call my aunt, and at that time he never offered condolences. He simply talked to my cousin Mario and said we`re going to have a service, you can all come down if you want.
I mean, if you want. Of course we want to attend the service. But then after the house is released we saw on the news that he was there with his family and they were taking clothes and articles and things out of the house.
But I can tell you, no one called my aunt, no one called my family and said, you know, we have Sheri`s military uniform, we have her medals, we have some trophies for Garett and Gavin. Is there anything, Angela, that you would like to have on behalf of your grandchildren and their mother? Not a single phone call from the Coleman family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN ANCHOR: Those two little boys, ages 9 and 11, third and fifth grades, Gavin and Garett, laid to rest side by side with their mother in the center, 31-year-old Sheri Coleman. In the late evening hours yesterday evening an arrest goes down of husband/father, former marine Chris Coleman.
His attorney says he maintains his innocence. Right now he`s behind bars. No bond.
We are taking your calls live.
Out to Dr. Michael Arnall, board-certified forensic pathologist joining me out of Denver. Dr. Arnall, what if the latex gloves are the ones that have the powder inside?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, BOARD-CERTIFIED FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The powder could compromise the ability to get a good print on the inside of the latex glove.
But if he took that glove off with his other hand, you may get his opposite hand print on the outside of the glove. Also, that`s not going to affect DNA or any of the fiber evidence that Mike Brooks talked about.
GRACE: So he might have outsmarted himself with the latex gloves.
And doctor, let me speak to you about the very fine hair that is found along the back of the hand and the beginning of the wrist area. Do you believe you`ll be able to get nucleus, the root of a hair, or will we have to rely on mitochondrial DNA out of that glove?
ARNALL: Now, if the glove was really tight and pulled some of those hairs out, you might get nuclear DNA from the roots of those hair fibers.
GRACE: Dr. Arnall, what about this? I`m thinking about DNA. Ligature strangulation, translation, a cord, a rope, a necktie, pantyhose, a ligature -- I don`t know how else to put it -- was used. He did not use his bare hands.
ARNALL: Right.
GRACE: What do those wounds look like? I mean, somebody like you or an experienced prosecutor or cop immediately knows a ligature strangulation from a manual versus an asphyxiation such as a smothering or a plastic bag over the head. What does the victim go through with ligature strangulation? Dr. Arnall.
ARNALL: There`s going to be a period of panic and terror before the individual loses consciousness. They`re going to perceive that hunger, air hunger, and panic with someone having a ligature around their neck. They may well claw at that ligature and scratch their own neck trying to get it from around their neck.
GRACE: Dr. Arnall, in certain strangulation cases that I have seen the neck can be shrunken down so tiny from the strangulation of the ligature, abnormally small. How does that happen?
ARNALL: As the ligature is tightened it`s going to make a furrow around the neck. And the detectives may well use the appearance of that furrow to try to determine what exactly -- what the exact nature of that ligature was. But that ligature tightens down and closes off the jugular vein and the carotid artery by applying pressure.
GRACE: How long does it take for a human to die by strangulation? How long did they suffer?
ARNALL: They might go unconscious in perhaps 12 or 14 seconds. But the assailant would still have to keep that ligature around the neck for perhaps another minute or two before the person actually died.
But they`re going to have that terror, that panic for perhaps 10 to 12 to 14 seconds, if the ligature strangulation was effective. If they`re struggling and the pressure comes and goes, it could have lasted much longer than that.
GRACE: To Major Jeff Connor, the Deputy Commander of the major case squad of Greater St. Louis, he`s been on this case from the very, very beginning. Major, I`m hoping that photographs were taken of the defendant`s arms, hands, neck, face. I know you got a booking shot. But I`m just wondering if any of the victims fought back and there were scratches or bruises on the defendant.
MAJOR JEFF CONNOR, DEPUTY COMMANDER, MAJOR CASE SQUAD OF GREATER ST. LOUIS: You know, I`m still going to maintain at this time I don`t want to discuss any evidence that we may have observed or...
GRACE: Understood.
CONNOR: ...collected in this case.
GRACE: Understood, Major Connor.
To Dr. Arnall, is it SOP, standard operating procedure, to look under the nails of the victims?
ARNALL: Yes. Every victim`s going to have fingernail scrapings. They`re going to look for the DNA of the assailant in case the victim scratched the assailant.
GRACE: In fact, Dr. Arnall, isn`t it true that an experienced crime scene tech, particularly the medical examiner investigators who go -- also go out to the scene to retrieve the bodies will bag the hands usually in brown paper bags so as to preserve any evidence under the nails or on the hands? Yes, no?
ARNALL: Standard operating procedure, yes.
GRACE: To Dr. Jeff Gardere, psychologist and author -- by the way, we`re taking your calls. I`m going to come right back to the lines.
Dr. Gardere, I was just saying last night the first thing I do when I get home, I don`t stop for anything, I go straight to the twins` nursery and look in their cribs to see if they`re asleep. As a new mom I even touch them until I can feel their chest or their back rising and falling.
Of all places to murder a child, in their bedroom, in their bed, sleeping, where you believe that`s the safest place in the world for them, that`s got to have so many psychological implications that I as a lawyer wouldn`t understand. Explain to me.
DR. JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR, "LOVE PRESCRIPTION: Yes. And this is what we`re thinking about this person. Yes, Marc Klaas was right about that, that this person is a monster.
The question is what was going on in his home? We see these idyllic pictures of he and his wife and these two beautiful...
GRACE: Whoa. Whoa. Wait. Wait. Put Gardere up.
GARDERE: Yes, go ahead Nancy.
GRACE: I don`t see Gardere. Dr. Jeff Gardere.
GARDERE: Yes.
GRACE: I want to see him. Why do I care what`s going on in the home? I don`t care if they all screamed at each other like banshees. I don`t care if they had a meth lab in the basement. I don`t care if they were rock bottom broke. Doesn`t matter what`s going on in the home. To justify this?
GARDERE: No, Nancy. The reason that I`m saying this is because we`re hearing from everyone that she never, his wife, his ex -- his deceased wife never complained about domestic violence, that they seemed to be a very happy family.
And what I`m saying is quite often we see these very idyllic pictures of these families but inside the home is chaos. There`s hate. And evidently this is a man who hated his family, hated his wife. The kids may have been collateral damage in killing them.
But this is truly a monster, and this is a person who wanted to get rid of his family completely. We don`t know if it was because of an affair. But...
GRACE: Ok, you know what?
GARDERE: But I can guarantee you that without knowing this man this was a very controlling, hateful individual who could do something so heinous and horrible.
GRACE: You know, let me go back out to Marc Klaas and Mike Brooks. Marc Klaas, President and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Mike Brooks, former Fed with the FBI. Let`s see both gentlemen up right now.
I usually agree with Gardere, but on this one I disagree because you know what? You don`t have to hate the mother and the children to kill them. They simply may be in your way. They may be between you and what you want, be it some stripper down in Florida, a different lifestyle, more money.
Murders I prosecuted, there`s not always hate. It`s almost worse, Marc Klaas. There`s nothing. It`s like the people don`t even -- they don`t even matter. They`re nothing.
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION,: There`s a particular kind of a profile that`s emerging of a type of a criminal that has no criminal history, is better educated than most criminals, has a better -- has more intelligence than most criminals. They seem to have these really good family lives.
Yet -- and they have no criminal history -- yet they get rid of their families. They erase their families so they can move on to something, a new future in which that family had no place. It seems to have somehow taken the place of divorce. It`s just...
GRACE: What about it, Brooks?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER FED WITH THE FBI: And this was -- Nancy this crime was well thought out. It didn`t happen in the blink of an eye.
KLAAS: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby killer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murderer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Murderer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This was his arraignment here at the Monroe County courthouse. This whole thing, proceedings lasted about two minutes. Now, when Mr. Coleman was brought into the courtroom he had to shuffle across the courtroom. He had handcuffs and leg irons on.
The emotion not inside the courtroom but outside; he was greeted by crowds who showed up to heckle him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murderer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby killer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murderer. Baby killer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby killer.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: People obviously upset in this county. They tell me they haven`t had a murder trial here in five years. Very unusual. And of course Christopher Coleman charged with murdering his wife and his two children, his two sons.
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UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: We`re waiting on some forensic evidence, forensic testimony, different things. And it just all started coming together. And for several days now we`ve been close. There`s some more evidence that came forward. And we were able to solidify just a more solid case. The prosecutor felt, as we did, that at this point there was enough time to charge him with these crimes.
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GRACE: Straight out to the lines, Natalie in Florida. Hi, Natalie.
NATALIE, FLORIDA (via telephone): Hi, Nancy. I think you`re the greatest. And I love your twins.
GRACE: Thank you. And thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?
NATALIE: Ok. I think he had the girlfriend with him. I don`t think one person could have done this by himself.
GRACE: Straight back out to Major Jeff Connor, deputy commander, major case squad. Major Connor, is anyone else under suspicion?
CONNOR: Right now all evidence suggests that we have one person in custody and that`s the only one responsible. However, if evidence would change and if witnesses would come forward, we would look into that. But right now we`re confident we have the killer.
GRACE: It would be pretty easy. Mike Brooks, it would be pretty easy to determine where the girlfriend was at the time of the killings based on cell phone...
BROOKS: Computer records.
GRACE: Computers. If she ordered a movie or pay-per-view.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
GRACE: Incoming, outcoming calls from her home.
BROOKS: Use of an ATM.
GRACE: To wonder though -- straight back to Major Jeff Connor. Major Connor, what happens now? And what are the conditions in his jail cell?
CONNER: I`m not familiar with the jail cell around here. This is a different county than I`m from. But I do know I believe it`s June 10th there`s a scheduled preliminary hearing.
GRACE: Back to Nick Pistor with "St. Louis Post Dispatch," what can you tell me about the jail he`s in?
NICK PISTOR, "ST. LOUIS POST": He`s in a very small jail. They don`t have a whole lot of inmates here. They`re not used to sort of murder cases or anything like that. It`s mainly DUI sorts of things in this very small county.
GRACE: Back out to the lines, Melissa in Tennessee. Hi Melissa.
MELISSA, TENNESSEE (via telephone): Hey, Nancy. I just want to tell you we appreciate you, we don`t miss a show.
GRACE: Well, bless you. And thank you.
MELISSA: and I want to tell you thank you for your coverage of your little angels. And I also don`t believe those two children would have been brought home this past week if it wasn`t for your hard work and dedication to us out here in the public that sit here and watch you. And I just want to thank you.
I want to say also, Nancy, I have an 8-year-old son, and I could not fathom, I could not fathom the way these cameras have been on this father showing no emotion at all from the grave site, when he was having three supposed -- that he was having three vehicles covering him, spying him, watching him, whatever it was. He showed no emotion from then up until now.
And I want to know why they waited so long to arrest him. Were they trying to catch him and let him think they were on another lead? I just don`t understand why they waited so long to arrest him.
GRACE: You know, Melissa in Tennessee, I`ve got Major Connor with me, but I`ve asked him that question about a million times since last week. And they`re not telling us why they waited for the arrest.
But I can tell you this much as a former felony prosecutor. They may very well have been watching where he was going. He may have been under wiretap. They may have been waiting to see if he`s communicating back and forth with the girlfriend, if he`s been caught on e-mail back and forth with her, text messages, phone calls.
There are a number of reasons; they may have been waiting for forensics such as DNA before they make the case to lock it in. There`s a host of reasons they may have waited for the arrest.
Back to you, Gardere. The mode of the killing, the manual strangulation of each one methodically, separately in their own beds, what does it say?
GARDERE: Well, again, I have to tell you that this is a guy who hated his life and perhaps his wife and kids were collateral damage. But the fact that it was the most painful way to take them out, Nancy; this guy`s a marine. He could have done it with a gunshot, one shot to each victim, and that would have been it. But he made them suffer. So there was hate and rage that was part of this man`s life.
GRACE: Back to Major Jeff Connor. Major Connor, his expertise was security, reportedly. He worked for a world-renowned televangelist in a security area. But yet you tell me that there was a window left open in the home. What window was it?
CONNOR: It`s a rear basement window. It was a full-size window, but it went into the rear part of the residence.
GRACE: And how open was it? Was it up all the way as if someone had climbed in?
CONNOR: That`s the way the officers, the responding officers found it.
So it sounds to me, Renee Rockwell, Alan Ripka, he may very well, if he`s guilty, have staged the scene to look like somebody came in the basement window. Now, there`s a little premeditation, huh? Ripka?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, there`s no premeditation if he`s not the one who did it. The basement window`s open, there`s an opportunity for someone else to come in and do the crime. And just because he was arrested, you already have him convicted.
GRACE: I haven`t convicted him. Ripka, do you see 12 people sitting in the box?
RIPKA: I see everyone discussing it.
GRACE: So.
RIPKA: You know nothing about the evidence, but you know as a fact that he`s arrested and therefore he`s the guy who did it.
GRACE: Ripka, I carry a pocket Constitution with me and I advise you to do the same, because nowhere in it does it forbid American citizens to discuss justice and the criminal justice system. We`re not a jury. We are commenting on what we know or believe to be the facts at this juncture.
Renee Rockwell, premeditation. You can get premeditation in the blink of an eye, much less the two minutes it takes to strangle the life out of a human being. Help me out here, Rockwell. The window lifted up like someone has broken in. Yes, ok.
RENEE ROCKWELL, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Not only the window, Nancy, but also the writing on the wall. And let`s just jump to the conclusion that they have forensic evidence that puts him there. All of this premeditation is going to fly in the face of any type of a mental defect.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May 5th was one of the worst days in my 16 years - - 16 plus years working for the Columbia Police Department. Today we`ve taken a step towards making things a little bit better for this community.
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GRACE: Out to the lines. Barbara in Florida. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA, FLORIDA (via telephone): Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
BARBARA: My question is that we don`t know what the motive is. I mean, we understand that he had a hooker/stripper girlfriend down here in Tampa, but what was the motive for killing his beautiful wife and two beautiful kids?
GRACE: Well, Barbara, luckily, let me back this up with you, Miss Rockwell, the state doesn`t have to prove motive. But, hey, when you`ve got a mistress and you want the single life, there`s a motive right now.
I`ve prosecuted a murder over a $10-debt one time, Renee.
ROCKWELL: Don`t have to have a motive, Nancy. All you need is proof, physical, forensic proof.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, weigh in.
MARC KLAAS: Well, I think that, you know, this guy is going to prove to be just another one in a long line of individuals who have what I would call, at this point, the Peterson gene, all of Scott Peterson, all of Michael Peterson, and all of Drew Peterson. These successful men who just don`t want these people in their lives anymore and think they can go on better by eliminating them or erasing them.
GRACE: And to Major Jeff Connor, congratulations on the arrest, major, but I know that there`s no joy in the police house tonight.
Let`s stop and remember Army Chief Warrant Officer Philip Windorski, 35, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, killed Iraq, on a second tour, also served Bosnia. Highly decorated with the bronze Star, Purple Heart, three air medals, five army commendation medals, five army achievement medals. A history buff. Loved spending time with his children, flying helicopters, coaching Peewee Football and Little League. Famous for his home-brewed beer. He dreamed of opening a microbrewery. Leaves behind grieving mom, Ruth, two brothers, widow, Karen, three children, Miranda, Austin, and Emilyn. Philip Windorski, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us.
A special good night from Georgia friends of the show, Leanne, Dan, and Cindy. And good night to Cindy`s mother. She couldn`t be with us tonight. She`s 93-year-old Helen Mitchell.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then. Good night friend.
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